Sunday, April 7, 2013

Along Came Trouble

Along Came Troubleby Ruthie KnoxPublished by LovesweptGenre: romanceThanks to NetGalley for the preview3.5 / 5

It's one thing to have a famous brother, one known as much for his good looks and womanizing than any discernible talent. It's something else entirely when your famous brother falls in love with your pregnant neighbor, dumps her, and then leaves you and the ex-girlfriend to manage the horde of paparazzi that descends on your otherwise quaint little burb.

Such is the situation for single mother Ellen Callahan, whose quiet Ohio life gets knocked off kilter by her pop star brother's fame, so much so that her brother hires a security guard.

Girls. We should all be so lucky as to need a security guard if they come looking (and acting and thinking and kissing and ... uh ... yeah) like Caleb Clark, an Iraqi war vet. The two aren't exactly smitten at first sight, largely because Ellen is irate that her brother hired a security firm without consulting her first. Worse, Caleb appears inclined toward digging up a beloved tree that Ellen planted.

Ellen happens to like her life with her preschooler son, having made peace with her painful divorce. It isn't that Caleb is wrong for her, either. He's actually exactly what she needs. Only in true romance novel fashion, it takes Ellen a while to figure that out for herself. Meanwhile, her brother and neighbor have to work things out, and then there is the matter of that pesky ex-husband.

Sure, it's predictable. But it's fun, and I'll take fun predictability over dull anything else any day. The love scenes are good - not the hottest I've read, but nonetheless steamy and with just the right amount of detail. After reading them, you will want to clobber Ellen upside the head.

As we enter beach reading season, consider this one a good option. Fun, romantic, and escapist.